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A bird flu epidemic has taken hold in the German state of Lower Saxony, with new cases found on six more farms and some 100,000 birds culled.

Turkey farms in the county of Cloppenburg have been hit with a pathogen of the virus that is not dangerous to humans, a county spokesperson said on Sunday evening. After culling birds by gassing them with carbon dioxide, four farms were declared free of the virus, but bringing new birds into farms has been banned in certain parts of the county to prevent new infections.

The virus has spread quickly, head of the Cloppenburg veterinary authority Wilhelm Paschertz said on Sunday, adding that it was not the dangerous H5N1 variant known for killing humans. Infected birds will be immediately killed, he said.